How to Develop a Meaningful Social Media Following

If you’re running a business in this day and age, figuring out how to get more followers on Instagram and building a strong social media presence are must-haves, not niceties, for brand awareness and connecting with your future clients. But for content creators whose Instagram profiles haven’t already developed a multi-digit following, the prospect of how to get more followers can be daunting.

“If you’re Beyoncé, social is optional. If you’re not, you need to be on it,” asserts Justina Blakeney, designer and founder of the home-goods site Jungalow. “It’s the most powerful marketing tool we currently have at our disposal...and it’s free.”

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Blakeney should know. Jungalow—a self-described “one-stop-shop for bohemian-modern home decor + all things all things colorful, patternful + jungalicious”—boasts metrics most bloggers and content creators would envy, with an Instagram follower count of 1.6 million. The designer herself has an audience of 528,000 on her own Instagram.

Patrick Janelle (follower count: 410,000), a creative director and entrepreneur behind the popular lifestyle site A Guy Named Patrick concurs. “It’s been hugely valuable,” he says. “I went from having a little freelance business to marketing myself as an authority in the lifestyle space.”

Of course, any emerging designer would relish the chance to get their name and work in front of thousands of potential new clients, but developing a solid content strategy and growing a robust social media following—that is, actually getting casual viewers to hit the follow button and remain engaged—take commitment. If you’re going to put in the work, do it right. We asked three social-savvy experts for their very best advice to help you harness the power of social media and see real-world results for your business’ bottom line—no bots or “like” farms required.

Just get started

Hashtags, photos, content calendars, bios, captions... The prospect of building a business profile and growing your Instagram follower count may seem overwhelming. But the most important thing, experts agree, is to just take that first step. “Not overthinking it is really important,”  Blakeney explains. “You don’t get better from thinking about things, you get better by practicing. It’s exercise.” No excuses, Janelle says. You already have everything you need. “The barrier to entry is really low—anybody can do it,” he notes. Though Janelle himself often posts high-quality photos, he says it’s not a necessity, especially when you’re just starting out. “The images on social media don’t have to be glossy, professionally taken photos.”

Sure, putting Instagram posts out into the world can feel a little intimidating, but don’t let that fear keep you from reaping the benefits of social media marketing. Experiment and see what feels right. “If you post something and you’re cringing, delete it,” Blakeney says. “You have room to play.”

Think of your Instagram account as a new portfolio

For designers, Instagram is king. While most experts stay visible with accounts on other social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and increasingly, TikTok, they consider Instagram most essential, with Pinterest in a solid second place. Several designers mentioned using Pinterest as a mood board for their creative work, but Janelle says it’s also an often-overlooked way to drive traffic. “Create more visibility through having a following on Pinterest or...making sure things that appear on your website are being pinned to draw traffic back to your site.”

Still, focusing energy on Instagram content will give you the most bang for your buck, experts say. “Increasingly, more opportunities come via my DMs on Instagram than they do into my email inbox,” Blakeney says. The designer adds that big brands are starting to realize how much untapped creativity is lurking on Instagram, and are pouncing on it. (The rise of influencer marketing is proof positive.) “It’s become a fertile ground for discovering new talent,” Blakeney says. “It’s allowed for different types of people to enter the industry in different ways.”

In fact, according to the designer, a solid Instagram account is even more important for your marketing strategy than a website because potential clients—Instagram users—are probably looking there first: “I see some people spending so much time, effort, money, and pain on creating these elaborate websites, but then their social media presence is nonexistent.”

Instead, she recommends designers spend that energy improving their social media presence. That means making your account look and feel as professional as a website. Remember, too, that your Instagram bio lays the groundwork for how potential followers will view your content—so use those 150 characters wisely to communicate the essence of your brand. Of course, any professional bio must include a link to more of your work, but don’t think of that opportunity as a static one. You may start by sending potential clients straight to the front page of your site, but sometimes you may want to swap out the link to highlight something new—a cool project you’ve just completed or news about a recent award. As your accomplishments grow, consider using a service like Linktree, which allows you to connect audiences with more of your content from a single link. 

“Make your Instagram tight,” Blakeney says. Get your content right, and new followers are sure to, well, follow.

Just like a traditional portfolio, your Instagram is selling you, so it’s important for your social media feed to represent your unique point of view. Athena Calderone, author, interior designer, and founder of EyeSwoon, says that’s where a designer’s artistic eye can really shine. “Allow your Instagram to be this window into your world,” she says. “We’re in the business of aesthetics. It’s just as important to pair images together as it is to pair pieces of furniture, textures, and fabrics together.” Calderone, who counts 854,000 Instagram followers, recommends making sure every photo, caption, hashtag, or story feels true to your brand before you hit send. “Make sure all your images have a similar presence on your feed,” she says. “Don’t post something just because you need to post something. Make sure it represents you and you feel really strongly about it.” Even if she’s posting directly from her phone, Calderone also takes the time to run any image through an editing app so her feed always feels cohesive (she likes VSCO).

“People want to get a sense of who you are and what you’re good at,” Blakeney says. “The most successful Instagram accounts are the ones that really invite you into the world of the brand and the personalities behind it.” The key to reaching your target audience is crafting a strong narrative, and that starts with solidifying your unique angle: “It is important to spend some time honing your own brand and your own personality—figuring out the things that get you really excited...finding that rhythm, finding that voice.”

And once someone clicks “follow,” keep giving them what they signed up for. “Especially within the design space, the easiest way to gain traction and grow a following is to be consistent,” Janelle says. “If you’re an interior designer, you really just want to be posting interiors, architecture, your own work, or inspiration, over and over.”

Write compelling Instagram captions and use hashtags

Don’t discount the power of captions to grab potential followers’ attention, Blakeney says. “There are so many ways to engage an audience and the picture is only half of it. The copy is extremely important in how you’re telling the story.” It’s about more than simply discussing each photo, Janelle says—captions are a great way to set yourself apart, draw in a new audience, and establish brand voice. “You may have beautiful images, but communicating and letting your personality show through is so important.”

For many visual people like designers, words just aren’t a default way to communicate ideas—they may think best in color and shapes—but it’s essential to consider how a post is going to be received by the audience, not only what’s easiest to create. 

Blakeney’s had success boosting her profile by experimenting with how she designs her captions. “It’s unbelievable,” she says, “that the exact same photo can get up to twice the engagement with different types of copy.” Because designers like Blakeney have followers who live and breathe decor, a popular caption could mean sharing sources on the projects she posts, which she makes sure to do generously. “When people are finding that they are learning something from you, they’re going to come back. And that’s the ultimate goal.” It may mean connecting in other ways: discussing her personal career journey, her design process, or asking a thoughtful question to invite followers to engage. “It’s experimentation, practicing every single day and then reflecting,” she says. “Looking back and saying, ‘wow, people really like this thing, I’m gonna continue to do that but put a spin on it.’” 

Another trick to get better at writing copy? Don’t forget to make it your own so it feels more fun to do. “As a creative, stop thinking about it [the captions] so much as this power PR and marketing tool—even though that is what it is. Think of it as an art project,” says Blakeney. Words are just another tool to shape her feed and the point of view of her brand. (Using emojis can add a bit of fun, too.) “Think of it as something you’re trying to share, which has a narrative arc that tells a story. That’s how you engage people, that’s how you bring people in, that’s how you get people excited about what you’re doing.”

Finally, don’t miss the opportunity to supercharge your reach by using hashtags—targeted keywords that can help you tap into a whole new community. Taking the time to include relevant hashtags to your captions will increase the likelihood that your content will get in front of the eyeballs of people who are already interested in, and searching for, what you offer. People who—if they like what they see—will be more likely to hit the follow button. But for higher quality engagement, do your research. Before you use popular hashtags, take a look at what other posts are linked to that keyword and ensure sure it’s a group you want your content to be associated with. Taking the time to use accurate and relevant hashtags will not only make your posts look credible to potential followers but also to the Instagram algorithm.

Cultivating engaged Instagram followers

“It’s one thing to put content out there, but if you’re not making some noise, then nobody’s going to discover your content,” Janelle says. “Ultimately this is a social medium, and being social, engaging, and being active is the thing that’s going to help you gain you visibility.” In fact, he says, interacting with other users—ones that you might find on the Explore page, for instance—is just as important as what you post on your feed.

Even for a business account, it can pay to have personality. Showing it is key whenever you post content, Janelle says. “Inserting your personal voice—you as a human...is probably the most valuable thing you can do,” he explains. Janelle sees video as a great place to get candid. For that, give Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, or Instagram Live a spin. (Note that the app phased out IGTV in 2021, opting to roll it and Instagram feed videos into the Instagram Video tab.) Short Instagram Stories clips can feel less formal than your feed, and because they’re temporary, you may feel more comfortable sharing more personal tidbits.

After a while, says Calderone, you’ll get a feel for which type of content resonates with your demographic. (Analytics tools can help.) Armed with that information, get can get to optimizing and growing an engaged audience. “Start to home in on when you get better engagement, when you get better comments,” says Calderone. The real trick, and the secret to keeping your Instagram followers happy, is to learn from those successes and keep serving up exactly what your audience wants. Blakeney says she constantly asks herself: “What about this post made people engage and how can I recreate that magic in my future posts?”

Finally, Blakeney says, remember that Instagram is a business with its own agenda. If it just rolled out a new feature like Instagram video, Reels, or Shopping and are trying to get people to use it, being an early adopter may mean Instagram’s algorithm is more likely to promote your content to a wider audience. “Think about what Instagram is trying to promote. If they want you to do video, and you do video, chances are they’re going to show it to more people.”

Create—and stick to—a posting schedule

So how do you keep up with the daunting pace of the internet? Just like every other part of your business, Blakeney says, it’s about priorities. “You have to look at social as just as vital as doing taxes or any other thing that you just have to do as a business person...You’re getting that done because you need to get it done.” Like every other work task, Janelle also says he puts posting on his to-do list. “Schedule out time, put it on your calendar, block it out so you know what you have to accomplish.”

“You have to force yourself to do it every single day,” Blakeney adds. “Whether that’s posting, commenting on other people’s posts, or responding to things.” And when it does become a routine, she says, that’s not the time to take a break. “If you stop for a week, you lose that momentum, and it just makes it that much harder to pick it back up again. You’ve gotta set yourself up to capture people’s attention, and if you’ve got it, you’ve got to hold onto it.”

What about social network apps like Hootsuite, Planoly, and Later that help to schedule and manage your posts? Janelle says they can help you keep an eye on  your account, but should never replace interacting with your audience: “If you’re on autopilot, it’s very easy to let these things post and never get on the app. It’s important to check the comments and respond to people. It’s all about being on the platform and engaging.”

It may be tempting to outsource your social media work to a staffer, but even designers with large teams tell AD PRO they still do much of their social posting themselves, to keep the voice authentic. If you do need extra support, Janelle says you should take the time to find just the right person. “Ultimately, you need to find somebody that you trust, who can represent your brand. It’s somebody that has a good eye, somebody who understands your business and your perspective and somebody who enjoys it.”

Committing to regular posting doesn’t mean you need to start from scratch each day. When he’s traveling somewhere picturesque, Janelle likes to take a lot of photos all at once, and hold some back for later, giving him quality content for an extended period. “If you see something you want to snap a photo of in the moment—great, but it’s much easier if you have 20 images you can parse out over time,” he says. This strategy makes for a more efficient workflow, and also lets him mix up the content on his feed. “If you have a couple of different buckets of things ready to go, you can cycle through them so you’re not showing one project over and over, you’re weaving various projects together.”

As for when to post, experts are split. Some say Instagram’s algorithm—which dictates the order in which posts show up in a user’s account—makes it a moot point; others swear you can still get a bump in traffic if you time it right. “I tend to post either in the morning or after 6 p.m. I always find I get the most engagement there,” Calderone says. “The truth is, it truly depends on your audience and is different for every single person,” Janelle says. “There really is no right or wrong way to ‘do Instagram.’”

However you’re able to make it work in your life, there’s no doubt that Instagram growth is great for your business, and it may also provide some creative focus. Calderone, who straddles the worlds of interior design, food, and lifestyle, says it’s helped unify all the creative things she does, and it’s paid off. “It’s sometimes hard to define what I do, but Instagram has given me this visual platform to show the world what I do,” she says. “It absolutely has transformed my business.”

Related: How to Recover Your Instagram Account